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According to a story on MSNBC, ChoicePoint, which maintains information about almost every US citizen, had their database compromised by an "unauthorized third party".
Criminals posing as legitimate businesses have accessed critical personal data stored by ChoicePoint Inc., a firm that maintains databases of background information on virtually every U.S. citizen, MSNBC.com has learned.
The incident involves a wide swath of consumer data, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, credit reports and other information. ChoicePoint aggregates and sells such personal information to government agencies and private companies.
Last week, the company notified between 30,000 and 35,000 consumers in California that their personal data may have been accessed by "unauthorized third parties," according to ChoicePoint spokesman James Lee.
The reason they haven't notified those *not* in California may be because only California data has been compromised. But it also may be because they're not required to disclose it to anyone outside of California: it's the only state with a notification requirement.
The letter to the California consumers recommends regularly checking credit reports for the next year.
Criminals posing as legitimate businesses have accessed critical personal data stored by ChoicePoint Inc., a firm that maintains databases of background information on virtually every U.S. citizen, MSNBC.com has learned.
The incident involves a wide swath of consumer data, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, credit reports and other information. ChoicePoint aggregates and sells such personal information to government agencies and private companies.
Last week, the company notified between 30,000 and 35,000 consumers in California that their personal data may have been accessed by "unauthorized third parties," according to ChoicePoint spokesman James Lee.
The reason they haven't notified those *not* in California may be because only California data has been compromised. But it also may be because they're not required to disclose it to anyone outside of California: it's the only state with a notification requirement.
The letter to the California consumers recommends regularly checking credit reports for the next year.
